Books are the priceless wealth a person possesses. So, below are 10 books that you must read before you are 30 years old.
10. Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
This novel came out of the pen of the American writer Harper Lee in 1960. The work is written in the spirit of an educational book, so it is not surprising that “Mockingbird” is included in the program of 80 percent of US schools. Contrary to popular belief that the plot of the novel was taken from Lee’s childhood, and the characters are none other than her own family, the writer admitted in an interview that the storyline is completely fictitious. Harper also spoke rather modestly about the wild popularity of Mockingbird, citing the fact that she did not expect such a shot of the novel. However, just a year after publication, the work won the prestigious Pulitzer Prize.
9. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
What can be said about this legendary four-volume? Tolstoy's work is so popular and causes such a storm of thoughts that it is extremely difficult to concentrate on one thing. Trying to fit the summary of War and Peace on three lines is as meaningless as putting an elephant in a coffee cup. It will not be difficult to evaluate the scale of the novel, having the following figures available. 569 - the number of characters, 6 - so many years it took Tolstoy to write a work, 5202 - so many sheets are the manuscript version of “War and Peace”, 8 - at least so many times Lev Nikolaevich copied the novel manually. Surprisingly, the writer himself did not attach much importance to the work and, not without irony, called “War and Peace” trifles.
8. Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
But Ayn Rand, unlike previous masters of the pen, treated her novel more respectfully and considered Atlanta to be the main work of her literary work. Well, the writer had every reason for this. What is only the fact that the novel took sixth place in the New York Times bestseller list literally on the third day of sales. By no means a lesser achievement is the fact that among the members of the Book of the Month Club (about 2,000 people) 17 recognized that reading the Atlanta changed their life. As for Russia, our book gained popularity in 2008, when the crisis was only under development.
7.1984 - George Orwell
By analogy with War and Peace, it makes no sense here to retell the content. Orwell depicted in great detail a possible variant of the near future (recall that the book was written in 1948, and events in it take place in 1984). It takes into account all the subtleties of totalitarianism, as well as vividly demonstrated his "illegitimate children." The name of the work, as well as the name of Orwell himself, has long been a household name. These words indicate what society can easily turn into if the powers that be are on the path of globalization and totalitarianism. "1984" is included in the cohort of the most striking and popular dystopian books.
6. The Lord of the Rings - John Tolkien
The Lord of the Rings Tolkien is the clearest example of a successful shot of not only a book, but of everything that was done on its basis. Finally, the writer himself also did not stand aside. In the early 60s, a real boom in Tolkien began. In addition to the fact that the fresh “Lord” was swept off the shelves like pies, John had to change his phone due to calls from fans around the clock. Now imagine that the book (and with it the film) could easily not become. Initially, the continuation of The Hobbit was not part of Tolkien's plans, but the owner of the publisher who was printing the book convinced John, and here is the result. The novel was translated into at least 38 languages, and often the quality of the translation was personally controlled by Tolkien as an expert philologist.
5. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
The history of this book is full of extremes and even some absurdity. First, Nabokov first wrote “Lolita” in English and only after more than 10 years translated the work into his native language. Secondly, the storyline connects an adult man with a love affair and a very young girl who is 12 years old (and she is no longer a virgin!). While working on such an ambiguous novel, Nabokov twice decided to burn the manuscripts. The writer also planned to release the work anonymously, so as not to provoke a big scandal (which eventually took place). Finally, Lolita is considered one of the great books of the 20th century, but it was banned in a number of countries - initially the novel was simply mistaken for pornography.
4. Rich Dad, Poor Dad - Robert Kiyosaki
A rather controversial book by an American businessman with Japanese roots was published relatively recently, in 1994. Actually, she has nothing to be unequivocal with, because in the work there are 2 points of view, the general object of analysis of which is money. The book is based on the advice that Robert himself received from his father (a small civil servant) and from the father of his friend (one of the richest people in Hawaii). However, subsequently Kiyosaki refused his own assertion that the "rich dad" is a real person. Many criticize the book for not giving specific advice on how to get rich. But what the hell is this book then, if everything is laid out on it on a silver platter?
3. The Catcher in the Rye - Jerome David Salinger
“The Catcher in the Rye” is one of those books that came to the court not only at the time of publication. Such a work will be relevant at all times, since the book raises the burning topic of perception of reality, as well as confrontation with social canons, stable opinions and morals. The protagonist of the novel is a 16-year-old young man whose plot fate is rather closely intertwined with the biography of Salinger himself. It is not surprising that the book quickly gained popularity among young people. However, adults did not shy away from the novel either. Thus, "The Catcher in the Rye" has become one of the cult works of the entire XX century.
2. The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupery
This touching work is familiar to almost everyone. An integral part of the book are the unique drawings of Exupery himself, which is absolutely definitely remembered by anyone who once read The Little Prince. These are not just illustrations, but the real part of the plot. In addition, through the drawings, the language barrier is overcome, and those who cannot make out what is written can understand everything without words. By the way, the work has already been translated into 180 languages, and the total circulation of all publications is more than 80 million copies. Impressive, isn't it? By the way, a great occasion to get hold of one of the books of such an extensive circulation and re-read The Prince again.
1. The Master and Margarita - Mikhail Bulgakov
Mikhail Afanasevich Bulgakov began to write his truly legendary work in 1928 and worked on it until his very last days. Despite the fact that the novel was created for 12 years, the book remained unfinished. The final version of "The Master and Margarita" was bit by bit collected by the widow of the writer, using handwritten pages and drafts. For the first time, the novel saw the light at all after 27 years, and the work howled in a separate book in the USSR only in 1973. Despite the fact that “Master and Margarita” is included in the school curriculum, reading this novel (rather even rereading it) is worth a more conscious age. But too tightening with this process is also not recommended.